Shackled to Myself
by Nihil Asara
Summary: Ranma/Claymore crossover.  Ranma controls two bodies at once!  I repeat, there is no Ranko  When the craziness of Nerima forces him into the world of Claymore will he rise to the challenge or fall victim to the cycle of pain that is the Claymore Universe.
1. Chapter 1

I figured I'd take another shot at the Ranma/Claymore genre. This will follow a very different plotline than my previous attempt. All names will be given in the western form: Ranma Saotome versus Saotome Ranma owing to the lack of surnames for Claymore characters. Also my own laziness. Japanese honorifics will be few and far between. Vaminos!

Day 1:

"Soun Tendo?"

Two girls stood on the doorstep, backed by a panda standing on its hind legs. All three were soaked from the rain and after only a moment he recovered his grace. "Yes that's me, why don't you come in out of the rain." The odd group (including the panda) shuffled past him as he held the door open. The elder girl appeared fifteen or sixteen, clad in oversized Chinese silks and sporting red hair that likely came from foreign blood. Blue-gray eyes peered from a soft face at odds with the shadows in their depths. The younger girl was no more than a child but her pale emerald eyes showed the same pain as that of her senior. Her face was more angular, but though her reddish-brown hair was less vibrant the tint was uncommon enough that they were likely sisters. Their behavior certainly suggested it was the case, the nine-year-old standing firmly against the side of the other girl, dwarfed by her height though Soun doubted the girl was an inch over five feet tall.

"Who is it Dad, is it Ranma?" Nabiki came around the corner, followed by Kasumi and a scowling Akane.

"N-" Soun was cut off as the Panda shoved Ranma out in front of his three daughters.

"I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this." The auburn-haired child started to bow in perfect synchronicity with Ranma until the panda halted her with a paw on her shoulder. Genma, currently that selfsame beady-eyed panda narrowed his gaze but the Tendos had seemingly not noticed any strangeness about the girl as of yet, all their focus currently on Ranma.

"Daddy you engaged us to a girl!" cried Akane.

"I'm sure Genma said he had a son..." said the rapidly wilting Mr. Tendo.

"Does this look like a guy to you?" Nabiki poked at Ranma's breast only to have her hand grasped in the redhead's frighteningly firm grip. There wasn't enough pressure to hurt her but it felt as if moving a boulder would be easier than prying this girl's hand off her wrist, but as quickly as Ranma had grabbed her she was released.

"Please don't touch me."

Soun felt a twinge of fear. Not so much for his daughters, for the girl seemed peaceful enough, at least for Nerima, but for the girl's true identity. Her ki was oddly difficult to read, the girls' sister likewise, but with speed like that she was surely a well-trained martial artist. He would need to see her fight to be sure she was trained in Anything Goes but it was becoming more and more likely she was indeed Genma's daughter. Inwardly he prayed that she had a twin brother with the same name.

"Nabiki, play nice," said Kasumi.

"Sorry about Nabiki. My name's Akane and that's Kasumi," she said, gesturing. "What's the little one's name?"

"Clare." Soun frowned. Red hair and now the younger sister had a foreign name Were they Genma's kids or not? From what he recalled of his brief encounter with Genma's wife she had been very traditional.

Akane was a bit put off by how cold the two seemed but hopefully they'd cheer up soon. "Did you want tea?"

"The water is still heating," said Kasumi, "another five minutes and it will be ready."

"Oh." Akane readjusted her gi and an idea came to her. "Did you want to see the dojo? You're trained in martial arts, right?"  
>Ranma was faintly surprised she even had to ask about her training. Soun at least seemed to recognize that she was not to be trifled with. "Maybe later I'll go take a look. Me and the fat panda behind me have something to show you." A wooden sign smacked her head. [Respect your elders, boy!] Ranma just calmly smoothed her hair, faintly amused at the Tendos reaction to her father's antics. "Kasumi, can you bring the hot water? Even if it's not boiling it should be hot enough now."<p>

Kasumi shuffled off, a blank mask of a face firmly in place as she came back with the tea kettle.

"Thanks." Without any further ceremony Ranma dumped its contents over herself and her father, returning them to their normal forms. For one blissful moment their was only surprise as Soun's knees wobbled and his daughters clung to each other for support to keep from fainting. Then came the judgment.

"Genma! Son-in-law!" Mr. Tendo hugged the two of them in turn but over his shoulder Ranma could clearly see the girls faces. Akane burned with rage, Nabiki continued to blink as her worldview changed, and Kasumi... was that fear he saw? 'Perhaps I truly am a monster and a freak.'

"I guess our fiance's just another pervert," commented Akane.

Ranma and Clare's hands tightened in unison before he forced himself to relax. "We were cursed at Jusenkyo. Cold water transforms us and hot water changes us back.

"And Clare?" asked Nabiki. "Does she turn into anything?"

Ranma caught his father's eye before responding. "No. She's normal."

Soun nodded his head before clapping Ranma on the shoulder. With effort he resisted the urge to throw the man's hand off of him. "This curse doesn't seem so bad. Go ahead and choose who you want as your wife."

"He wants Akane," said Nabiki.

"Definitely Akane," seconded Kasumi.

"Hey!" yelled Akane.

"Perfect, it's settled then. Akane and Ranma will be wed and unite the two schools of Anything Goes."

"I don't think-" started Ranma.

"There's no way I'm marrying that idiot!"

"I still don't think this is a good idea," said Ranma.

"Nonsense my boy!" shouted Genma. "This is perfect, we can have the wedding this Sunday!"

"Papa don't you think it would be better to let them get to know each other a bit first?" interjected Kasumi.

"Perhaps you're right. A month for Ranma to woo her could be a good thing. They can stay in the guest room."

"A month!"

Soun began to sob. "Oh my darling child is so eager to be married. A week it is!"

"That's not what I meant!" cried Akane.

"Is it alright for Clare to sleep in the guest room?" asked Kasumi. "Maybe she should sleep in Akane's room."

"She's fine with us," replied Ranma quickly.

"Doesn't she ever speak?" Ranma felt himself sweat under Nabiki's inquiring gaze. Cautiously he let his face relax even as Clare's eyes came to life.

Clare, as the body was called, stepped up to Ranma's side once more, waist-long hair tickling her neck as her senses came alive. "I'll be okay in the guest room, don't worry about it. Do you have a bath? I'm a bit chilly from the rain."

"Oh you poor dear," said Akane. The same mothering instincts that had killed her pet goldfish were in full force. "I was about to take a bath myself, why don't I show you to the furo." Her hand reached out for the girl's only to have Ranma shift Clare behind him. "Hey what gives?" She reined in the impulse to smack the pervert.

"She doesn't like bathing with others, we can all wait until you're finished." Akane frowned, suspicions forming. Finally she turned away and made her way upstairs.

Kasumi was vaguely surprised Akane hadn't offered to let Clare go first before shaking her head. "Why don't you three come with me. I'll set some more water to brewing and then find you some towels to dry off."

So ends Day 1

E gods. Using idiot instead of baka, it honestly feels slightly sacrilegious. Anyone guessed where this story is going as of yet? Somehow I expect spoilers will show up in the reviews... well, no worries.

I haven't really decided on a paring as of yet. I'd love to do a Riful/Ranma pairing if I can find a half-believable way of doing it, otherwise... maybe Galatea? We'll see. It's unfortunate but after reading like 1000 Ranma fanfics I've been poisoned against most of the original cast of characters. I think most 1000+ Ranma fanfic readers would agree with me that you can only keep the spark so long. I still can't believe that so long ago I was actually pro-Akane... Still, I don't intend to bash her, or anyone if I can help it. Akane is not unsalvageable, its just that most attempts to redeem her come across as rather high-handed considering what she's been through. "Be nice all the time!" when frankly speaking such a radical change in character is nearly impossible and an unfair thing to ask of her. Truth be told I think she'd fit fairly well with Ryoga, but not with Ranma, and the amount of effort it would take to make her fit well with him in an organic manner is more than I'm willing to give.


	2. Chapter 2

This would have been published last night... alas for philosophical discourse. Anyone who's reviews were destroyed yesterday, feel free to repost. As far as I can tell the review system, at least for my stories, was down for about 3-4 hours yesterday.

Morning:

Ranma and Clare awoke simultaneously as they dodged Genma's kick. "Outside in ten minutes, boy." Ranma, currently female, leisurely untangled herself from the futon and the young girl's limbs. She knew her father would greatly prefer to simply throw her out the window then and there but he unfortunately was forced to allow her a little time to herself in the mornings. After all, Clare was, more or less, herself, thus she was in essence alone. Concentrating, Ranma put her hand on Clare's stomach, pure ki washing over Clare's body. Clare's hair darkened from pale blond to auburn as the yoki that healed her many scars even as it corrupted her body was flushed out. Retreating, the yoki concentrated once more at that stubborn knot of foreign matter in the girl's gut.

Task complete, Ranma focused on moving Clare's body towards the furoba even as she jumped out the window. She really wasn't good enough at moving both simultaneously to fight effectively but the only way she would get better was if she practiced. Taking a bath wouldn't take too much of her attention and it was better to get the kinks out by sparring with her father than in an actual fight. "Kiya!" shouted Ranma as she struck at Genma, initiating an intense spar at super-human speeds. Meanwhile, Clare jerkily made her way into the furoba. Tossing aside the smelly year-old gi that had been awkwardly cut to fit her she scrubbed anr insed quickly. Standing on tiptoes to get over the side she eased one leg into the furo. "Kyaa!" the sound slipped from her throat as she caught sight of a nude Akane. Outside, Ranma was pummeled into the ground as she lost concentration. Genma, currently a panda, took one look at her before dragging her inside in search of hot water and breakfast.

Clare's head drifted back above the water, eyes firmly fixed at the wall. "Are you alright?" asked Akane. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but you forgot to put up the occupied sign."

"I'm fine," squeaked Clare. "can you leave for a minute? I promise I'll be right out."

"Nonsense, don't be so shy. Think of this as practice for when you go to the school today, none of the gym showers are private." Akane slipped into the furo behind her, the ripple of water sending goosebumps along Clare's arms despite the warmth. "I'm just glad you really don't turn into a boy or anything, I was a bit suspicious about you last night, I hope you'll forgive me."

Clare frowned, even as Ranma batted away Nabiki's finger after having been poked in the cheek three times. "School?"

"Yep. I heard your brother is already registered, I'm not sure about you though."

"Pops would be upset if people started saying clare was his child, something about infidelity and swords... She wasn't really sure why he was so concerned when supposedly her mother was dead but the whole thing seemed unreasonable. Screw it, Saotome was her name, regardless of what body she wore. He owed her a favor anyways. "I'll just go with Onii-san." Agh, she wanted to scrub her tongue. That had so much better in her head, out loud it sounded far, far too sweet.

"I don't think they'll let a primary school kid into the high school, Clare. Especially one as violent as ours. How old are you anyways? You haven't been with those two idiots for their entire training trip, I hope?"

"I'm nine." It was more a guess than anything else. Every once in awhile a memory would come to her in her dreams from Clare's life but birthday parties had played no part in them.

"You have wonderful hair, you should keep better care of it." As Clare heard her move towards her in the water she sprang out in a giant spray of water, racing towards the dressing room. Ignoring Akane's shout of surprise she slipped into the alas, still-smelly gi and made her way downstairs. With luck Akane hadn't noticed the half-faded scars the littered the skin below her neck.

"Clare, you made it," said Nabiki, nursing a nearly-empty mug of coffee. "Your brother is acting like a zombie, maybe you can snap him out of it."

Genma's eye's twitched at the mention of of the word brother but Clare silenced him with a glare. "He's probably just a little dizzy from sparring, I'm sure breakfast will get him going." Steaming bowls of miso soup made their way to the table, accompanied by rice and pickles. Focus spreading between Ranma and Clare they joined the rest of the table (now including Akane) in saying "Itadakimasu!" and promptly dug in.

"Oh, Clare, I almost forgot." Kasumi dropped the first set of empty dishes in the kitchen before taking Clare's hand. "I have my old uniform waiting for you upstairs, do you want to come try it on?"

"It's not a skirt, right? I'm not really a skirt person." 'At least if I'm the one wearing them...'

"I'm not sure what you're wearing will be suitable. It's best to make a good impression on your first day in class after all."

Clare plucked at the ragged sleeve of her gi. "I s'pose."

"Alright, come along then, primary school starts a bit later in the day than the high school but Genma still needs to get you registered." As he let Kasumi lead Clare upstairs Ranma gave Genma one of the hand gestures he'd taught him for silent theft operation when he was younger. A couple of signs were enough to make it clear to his father that there was no way he was going to separate himself from her. Rather than argue Genma just chucked a bookbag at him.

"Come ooooon Ranma, you're holding us up," said Nabiki.

"Hold up a sec, I'm waiting for Clare."

"Eh? Well I'm leaving. I'm sure your new fiancee can lead you to Furinkan." Nabiki made a graceful exit, hips swaying as she left behind a crimson Akane in the doorway.

Akane's foot began to tap at the floor until finally Clare plodded down the stairs. Akane, and indeed, Ranma himself, were surprised at how quickly she'd gone from looking like a homeless waif to a cute school girl. Two rivers of hair hung to either side of her cheeks while the rest lay in a curtain along her back, framing a face tinged with a blush. Akane turned away. "Alright Ranma let's get going, thanks to you I'm going to be late again."

Ranma took hold of himself and looked at the clock. "We've got time if we run." Snatching up Clare he put her on his back. "Come on, let's go."

"Why are you taking Clare?" Akane felt oddly annoyed.

"Don't worry about it." Ranma jogged backwards out the door, stopping just after the front gates to allow Akane to take the lead.

The trip was uneventful, his second set of eyes managing to glimpse the old lady with the water pail just in time to dodge. For a moment he thought he felt Genma following him but as he approached the front gates of Furinkan High School the sense of someone watching him finally faded. Akane's first words since the run began interrupted derailed his curious musings. "Stupid Kuno, stupid boys!"

"Nani?"

End Morning.

Concerning "nani". Means "What". I would have just said what, and kept with English, but thanks to the couplet in the previous line it required two syllables. So it was either "What the...?" which implies I self censored and that's just not cool, or "nani?" I tell no lies. There was a third option of finding a different line entirely but I'm a bit tired at the moment from too much turkey soup, alas. Hope some questions were answered, I think we can all agree I should have tacked this on to the previous chapter before publishing. I blame... adrenaline? Caffeine? One of the two. Tune in next chapter for the Amazing Kuno Super Extraordinaire Pink Thunder! Na, he's blue, and his roses too!


	3. Chapter 3

Still not sure why this only has 2% of the views of my other claymore/ranma fic... The first chapter and summary weren't that bad were they? Maybe the title's too far along in the alphabet... P.S. Kuno Tatewaki will have his last name first because, honestly, that's just who he is, ne?

Chappy 3:

As Akane punched and kicked her way into the throng as if they were bowling pins Ranma watched in amazement. Snapping himself out of the surprise of seeing such a strange welcoming committee he hopped atop the wall and into the century-old tree just inside the grounds. Placing Clare in a niche he joined the fray, quickly mopping up the last ten opponents. "Hey! I didn't ask you to help me."

"You didn't say not to either?" Akane took a step towards him.

"Halt, knave! How dare you approach the most beauteous Akane Tendo. Would that lightning might strike you down now for this offense, for I am the Blue Thunder of Furinkan, Kuno Tatewaki!" Raising his bokken to the sky thunder pealed in the background, dark rainclouds gathering overhead.

Ranma wasn't quite sure what was more worrisome, the rain or Kuno's apparent ability to call up thunder on command. "Ranma Saotome, pleased to meet you."

At this point Kuno looked as if he had just sucked on a lemon. "It seems you have some manners, but I can not let this transgression pass. You must battle me for the fair Akane's hand."

"Get up here, Ranma," called Nabiki from a second floor window, "class starts in thirty seconds."

A raindrop ran down Ranma's nose. He blinked as he watched cross-eyed as it traced its way down his skin. "How about at lunch? I'm a bit busy at the moment." Leaping upwards he grabbed Clare from her perch, stepping off three branches on his way down.

"Scoundrel! You would play with both their hearts?"

"She's my sister."

"And nine..." added Akane disapprovingly.

A sudden gust of rain-heavy wind coated Ranma's face, leaving a tiny redhead in his place. Both hands full from carrying Clare she directed Clare's right hand to slap her in the face as gasps of shock bubbled up from the numerous onlookers. "Sorcery!" The bell rang, but those still watching at the windows showed no inclination to leave off watching this most strange scene, even for Furinkan. "To think that wretched warlock would spirit a sweet damsel from her home rather than face my righteous wrath!"

"Seriously?" Ranma stared at him askance. Noticing a few of the hentai horde staring at Clare she rapidly set upright on the ground. "Seriously?" A few, at least, had the decency to look ashamed.

"My poor pigtailed girl, I'm so sorry for your pain, let my love ease your misfortune!" Ranma tensed as as the lunatic ran at her with open arms, sighing in relief as Akane took the opportunity to flatline him.

"I can't – ha – believe - haha – that Kuno fell in love with you at first sight."

"It's not my fault he's insane," responded Ranma, Clare at her side, shivering slightly from the rain.

By the time they reached their classroom the halls were empty save for a few solitary bucket-holders. Ranma idly wondered if she'd soon be one of them. "I can't believe you have the nerve to pretend to be a girl on your first day," said Akane scathingly.

"It's not my fault this school doesn't have hot water in the mornings, and what do you mean pretend? I'm going to tell them I'm really a boy."

"Whatever, just pretend you don't know me."

'Some fiancee,' thought Ranma as she entered the classroom. 'Wide eyed students, check, generic middle aged man clutching a piece of chalk, check, annoyance over a tardy entrance-'

"Miss Tendo, buckets." 'Check,' thought Ranma. "And who might you be?"

"Ranma Saotome, Sensei."

"My list says Ranma Saotome is male."

"I have a curse that transforms me into a girl if I get hit with cold water." The teacher's frown deepened further. He'd thought he had heard it all back when he was a substitute teacher, the name games, the exploding apples, speaking in tongues, but this, he had to admit, was a new one.

"It's true, we all saw it," said a boy in the back of the class. A few hesitant nods and murmurs backed up his assertion.

"I see. Well, introduce yourself to the class. Quickly mind you." He was a teacher, not a psychologist. Let them sort it out.

"I just got back from China and I've studied martial arts my entire life. This is my sister Clare. Yoroshiku." They bowed. Ranma couldn't help but notice the teacher dragging a hand down his face as he noticed how young Clare was.

"Fine. Take your seats."

A few notes made their way onto Ranma's desk but she steadfastly ignored them until break came about.

"How did you get a curse?"

"What was China like?

"What are your three sizes?" Ranma synchronized Clare's glare with her for that one.

"Are you friends with Akane?"

Akane had by this point been let back into the classroom in preparation for math class. "Not really," said Ranma. "We only met yesterday."

The early arrival of the math teacher quieted most further discussion, allowing Ranma to stick to mostly safe explanations of various martial arts and the countryside of China. Unfortunately as class started Mr Fugawara started his own line of questioning. "Who's babysitting the kid?"

"That's my sister, Clare," replied Ranma, a touch worried this teacher would prove more by-the-book than the last. "She'll be here all year, Sensei."

"Indeed?" Mr. Fugawara wrote the equation 4x=2 on the board. "Solve for x."

Ranma let her consciousness slip mostly over to Clare's body before responding firmly, "One half."

"Hmm..." 4x=2 was replaced with x^2+2=y x=3. "Solve for y."

"Umm, is it eleven?"

At this point Mr. Fugawara couldn't help but be a little curious how much this little nine-year-old girl actually knew. Drawing a right triangle he labeled the sides 3 and 4. "What is the length of the hypotenuse?"

"I'm not really sure..." She was glad these questions were directed at Clare and not Ranma or she'd probably look like an idiot.

"Well it's a start. Welcome to the class little one." Thus began a very boring class that she couldn't even sleep through. Unless they were touching it was actually easier to get knocked unconscious than to actually fall asleep.

Lunch came at last and with a quick glance at a renewed mob of questioners, this time with a few aiming towards Clare, Ranma picked her up and hopped out the window. Predictably, a number of people now crowded the window above her as she settled in with Clare at the base of a tree. Making short work of Kasumi's delicious bentos they were asleep, Clare's head resting on her chest, before anyone from their class had even made it down the stairs.

End Chappy 3.

Famous quote of the day: The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Anyways... still not sure why this getting 1/5th at best of my normal views per chapter but I'm fairly certain people aren't hating this story so I'll keep at it for awhile longer.


	4. Chapter 4

A spoonful of Sugar helps the Medicine go Down, o yes the Medicine, go down...

Am I the only one who can't remember who the gym teacher was? Or if they even had screen time? I seem to recall him being perverted but what gym teacher in manga/anime isn't?

Chappy 4:

"So Teach, howz-about lettin' me and my sister skip out on gym class, ne?" said Ranma, finally male.

"All classes are mandatory." The teacher's chin stuck out like a brick, eyes momentarily drifting away as the first of the girls exited the locker room.

"Come on, man, it's not like I need it." Ranma leapt back onto his hands before flipping himself ten feet into the air, landing with perfect balance.

"Stop being such a girl and get out there in uniform before I sign your expulsion ticket!"

'He wasn't even watching, was he,' thought Ranma glumly. With feet of lead Ranma and Clare trudged their way to their respective locker rooms. 'If anyone figures out we're the same person every girl in this school will be out to kill me...' As Ranma changed in silence Clare took Kasumi's immaculately washed gym suit into a bathroom stall to change, ignoring the curious stares of the other girls. Her eyes had been kept firmly pointed towards the ground the entire way but that very inability to see their faces only made her more nervous. Preoccupied with Clare's position the enemy stronghold Ranma took a few seconds to react to the treachery in the boy's locker room. Shirtless and doused in cold water she stood still as a doe. Questing arms swept closer as eyes raked her body.

"No." Her voice was as cold as ice. In that short motionless moment a number of thoughts had slithered over the frozen surface of her mind. She had thought she might shout, or beat them to a pulp while declaring she was a man. She'd even considered having Clare run help. She suspected her father would have only accepted the second option. But this... even as it happened she couldn't be fully certain how she did it. A sheath of ki slipped over her, blurring her as if she stood within a heat wave. Despite being colorless the boys backed away, aware on some primal level of the danger embodied in her small frame, all save one. A slight tugging on the chain that bound her to Clare pulled her attention from the boy approaching her bare back. Her eyes unfocused and she saw... a sword?

"Ahhh!" Hearing the shout Ranma came back to herself, absentmindedly pushing Clare's yoki back down. She had fallen, hunched over, to her knees in the puddle of water, gym-shirt sitting at the bench at eye-level beside her.

"What's going on in here!" The gym teacher barged into the room like a colossus but his self-assurance wavered upon seeing the blood splatter.

"Renji's injured again."

Not seeing the now-kneeling redhead he grabbed Renji's dripping hand and examined the wound. "It looks like you ran your damn hand over sandpaper, boy. What the hell did you do this time?"

"It was Ranma, she-"

Ranma heard her name and bolted through the gaps in the crowd, clutching the cotton shirt to her exposed chest as she ran. Not slowing to split her attention between her two bodies she raced to the girl's bathroom, slipping into her shirt as she went. Her speed as she entered the locker room sparked surprise among its inhabitants but it quickly turned to outrage as Akane let forth the fatal reminder. "RANMA!"

As Ranma broke the latch on the stall and snatched up Clare in her arms the girls armed themselves with brooms and lacrosse sticks. Hate-filled eyes surrounded her, judging her. She crumpled to the ground, Clare huddled against her chest. Cool tiles burned her hot skin. She was missing something. 'Ter...' the memory slipped away before she could grab hold of it. Soft sobs shook their bodies. "I want to go home," she whispered, though to what home she referred she did not know. The Tendo Dojo flashed in her mind to be replaced by a smaller house and a woman in a yukata. Athird came into view in her mind's eye, smaller still with rough-hewn wood floors, a Western bed of her own, a man patting her head, a woman (her mother?)... 'I'm a man, this isn't my memory.' Her inner voice oscillated between high and low, as if unable to decide whether it was truly male or female. The memory continued despite her will, though she could not say in this moment if she truly fought against its coming. Warmth in that half-remembered house surrounded her, a smile painted her face and was repaid in kind. A rag doll sat in her lap and - "Kyaaa!" she and Clare screamed in unison, startling the confused ring of girls around her. Ranma's eyes, now wide open, seemed to stare right through them, conscious of nothing around her as she watched blood and intestines fly in that once peaceful cabin.

"Is she alright?"

"Maybe we should call the nurse."

"No one actually hit her on the way in, right?"

Akane dropped her baseball bat and stretched her hand towards Clare's shoulder. "Hey Clare, are you alright? Did that buffoon hurt you?"

Ranma only heard two words as she mercifully fainted into unconsciousness, "... hurt you?" The soft tugging became the pull of a maelstrom, carrying their still bodies away.

* * *

><p>Rough stone, a cave, rain. 'Where am I?' With a sharp exhalation from the effort she forced back the yoki in Clare's system that had slipped out while she slept. Holding Clare close to her for warmth she did her best to sink her back into the rock wall, huddling in the shadows as the clouds grey darker. Her eyelids grew heavy, fluttered.<p>

"Come out, come out, little yoma."

"Be careful, Helen."

"What, for such a weak yoki? Miria, you must be mistaking me for number forty-seven," responded Deneve.

'Yoki?' thought Ranma. 'They can feel Clare's yoki even after I finished suppressing it? How do they even know what yoki is?' For just a moment she closed her eyes, stretching her senses to reveal the burning sun that was Miria's yoki. She held herself and Clare perfectly still, not even daring to breathe.

"This would not be the first time and awakened being disguised themselves as a common yoma." Miria's eyes narrowed, her claymore pointing directly at Ranma's hiding spot. "There."

Trembling, Ranma stepped into the light, hand entwined with Clare's. "Hi." Her voice faltered and died in the face of the unflinching violence reflected in their eyes. A sword moved into striking position.

"Deneve, wait."

"You're not in command here, forty-seven," responded Helen in place of her friend. She turned her head around at a disturbing angle. "What a strange look you have. Never killed a yoma wearing a child's body before? You should be more considerate towards its hostage."

"I'm not a hostage," said Ranma, interrupting the bone-chilling discussion. "And Clare isn't a yoma."

"Don't play with me!" The so-called forty-seven swung her sword and Ranma tackled Clare out of the way, sword nicking Ranma's side as she tumbled to the ground. "How did you steal my face?"

"Clare, calm down." Ranma's eyes flicked towards Miria before refocusing on her now rigid aggressor. "Explain yourself."

Her sword didn't waver a hair as it hovered by young Clare's throat. "She looks just like me on the day I was turned."

End Chappy 4

Well. Bet you didn't see double-Clare action coming, ne? Neither did I, but someone was freaking out in one of the reviews about me basically taking Clare out of the picture and I was like, you know what? You're right. Clare is super-awesome and now the only thing stopping this multi-Clare menace is a name change. Chibi-Clare just sounds disturbing so right now it's a tossup between calling mini-Clare Ranko or Teresa. Feel free to leave a name suggestion in reviews. Oh and by the way, I no longer feel like tossing my laptop out the window because apparently whatever site error was leeching away 80-90 percent of my page views on all my stories was fixed after about 4 days of loneliness. Well, I had to scrap half my plot line but here we are in the Claymore universe (at last?). Why did they show up in the cave? Call it coincidence and pretend it was justified, just like Nodoka living in Juuban in SM crosses. P.S. Ranma will be less wimpy in future, but no, his new ki aura is not overpowered.


End file.
